Magnetic disk-drives, such as hard-drives, are implemented in almost all personal computers and enterprise-class server computers. Typical magnetic disk drives are operated by a spindle motor (SPM) that spins the magnetic disk and a voice coil motor (VCM) that drives and positions the magnetic disk read and/or write head. As an example, the VCM can be a linearly operated servo motor that can operate in a seek mode and in a tracking mode. The VCM can also operate in a head-retraction mode. When the part experiences a power failure or any other major device fault condition, an emergency retract can be initiated to operate the VCM to retract the magnetic disk read/write head up the ramp. The retract is performed to help prevent damage the fault condition may cause to the VCM and/or spindle motor as well as mitigate damage to the magnetic disk(s). There are several approaches that can be implemented to perform the retract. However, many are either overly expensive and/or result in undesirable acoustic emissions emanating from the disc drive during retract.